Originally Posted by bearisgray
Are the outside edges of the HST on the bias or on the straight of grain?
From the pictures, it looks like the outside edges are bias?
I had another lady question the bias. Here is what I answered her with.
This is her question:
Am I missing something ?? If you cut the original half-square triangle unit out of the strip---don't you then have all of
the sides of the square on the bias ? Awfully hard to sew
accurately to anything else, especially for beginners because they stretch/ what you have after further cutting & sewing is an hourglass, not a four-patch. four-patch is 4 squares of different colors or pairs of colors.[/quote]
My answer:
I cut and sewed a 4" HST. I sewed another piece to one side as if you were sewing blocks together. Yes the sides are on the bias. I sewed two differant ways. Two differant blocks. With the seam following the straight grain and another with the seam following the bias.They came out the same.
When you piece two blocks together I pin in the center and then match the ends on each side. If you don't pull on the side of the HST you shouldn't have any trouble getting them to line up without stretching. I had no problem.
If you are getting an hour glass then I suggest you may need to look at your seams and tighten them where they need it. I do get blocks that are off kilter when sewn together but it doesn't have anything to do with grain but with getting a good seam.
I have done a tutorial for fixing problems when doing HSTs
This might help if your 4 patch is not coming out right.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-23252-1.htm
There is no reason in my opinion that a beginner can't do this.
HSTs are a first step to learning to do more involved quilt blocks.
If you are doing small stuff don't worry about bias. But if you are doing larger HSTs then just pay attention to anchor the center and the corners. When you have a couple of blocks that one is just a tad wider than the other you can gently work the fabric in so the two fit together without any tucks. If you pin in the center and pin or I prefer to tack( it has less room to move) then if you have a large block or row of blocks then pin from the center out part way and from the outside in to meet in the middle between the center of the block and the corner of the block. This is a valuable thing to learn and any beginner can learn it. Once you can do this the bias is not a problem.